Housing 21 completes its largest acquisition to hit milestone of 10,000 extra-care homes

The landlord now manages more than 650 schemes across England with a total of over 24,000 properties.

Tony Tench, deputy chief executive at Housing 21, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome our new residents and employees to Housing 21 in what represents the biggest acquisition in Housing 21’s 60-year history.

“Acquisitions are a key part of our growth agenda; in the past 18 months we have purchased over 970 properties from other landlords and are still committed to developing up to 400 new extra-care and retirement living properties every year.

“As some housing associations are choosing to refocus on general needs, Housing 21, as a specialist provider of housing for older people, is keen to acquire properties and ensure they remain a positive choice for residents, providing the safe, quality and affordable homes they deserve.

“Through acquisitions such as this, residents can feel reassured they are moving to a specialist provider of extra care and retirement living, who is entirely focused on meeting their needs. It also means these properties are retained to support the growing population of older people not just now, but in the future.”

Kris Peach, managing director of extra care at Housing 21, said: “To reach 10,000 extra-care properties is fantastic but to do so in our 60th anniversary year is symbolic as we demonstrate our commitment to providing quality services to more older people.

“As we increase our presence across England, we are giving more older people more choice and control over their future and will continue to identify opportunities for growth. This acquisition complements our existing portfolio, ensuring we can continue to grow to meet the needs of both new and current residents.”

Joe Reeves, executive director of finance and growth at Midland Heart, said that the transfer will give the 35,000-home landlord “valuable additional resource to make our next corporate plan our most ambitious yet”. 

He said this plan will focus on the provider’s “core purpose” as a landlord of general needs homes.

Mr Reeves said: “The resources from this transfer will be directed back into the organisation, enabling us to continue to build new, affordable homes that are needed in the Midlands.

“We will also invest in our existing homes to ensure that over 6,000 homes are fit for modern living with greater levels of energy efficiency, all at an EPC rating of C by 2030.”

Mr Reeves added that Midland Heart is confident that the transfer of these 23 schemes to a specialist provider will “build on the high-quality services we have provided to our residents and offer colleagues more opportunities to develop in their chosen careers”.

“We are sure all residents will continue to enjoy living in their homes, and we wish all colleagues transferring the best with their new employer and in their future careers,” he said.

The latest transfer comes after Housing 21 said it continues to focus on growth through development and acquisitions in its 2023-24 financial results.

In the results, the landlord said it is “exploring acquisition proposals in 2024-2025 and [remains] open to acquiring more properties where [it] can make a positive difference and create better outcomes for older people”.

In 2023-24, Housing 21 posted a pre-tax surplus of £11.8m, a rise from £9.7m in the previous year.

Turnover from social housing lettings increased by 12 per cent, or £21.1m, year-on-year to reach £199.7m.

The landlord said this was driven by growth of its business through acquisitions and new developments, an increase in its rents and turnover recognised in association with its PFI/ PPP contracts.

In August, S&P Global reaffirmed the long-term issuer rating of Housing 21 as A- with a stable outlook.

And in August last year, the credit ratings agency affirmed this rating and removed Housing 21 from its CreditWatch list, after the association abandoned plans to merge with smaller extra-care provider The ExtraCare Charitable Trust.